As is well known and understood, the most common and cheapest way to go recreational crabbing is simply to hand-feed a crab line into the water with a stainless steel hook at its end baited in any appropriate manner. As is also known from experience, a disadvantage of crabbing in that manner is that the bait deteriorates in the water, and over time, so as to pull away from the hook simply due to the weight of the crab holding onto the bait while eating. While such usage envisions the raising of the line with the crab holding onto the bait - - - and then to be scooped off the bait - - -, such visions are frequently dashed upon seeing the crab and its weight simply tear off a piece of the bait, falling back into the water, as the line is either pulled or reeled in.
As is also well known, one common way of avoiding this is through the design of what are termed "crab-traps", which ensnare the crab when it is eating, attracted by the scents of the bait fish. While greatly offsetting the problem of the crab falling away from the remainder of the bait by its own sheer weight, one of the disadvantages of these traps is their added cost - - - typically selling at retail for upwards of $7.50-$10.00, and more.